Chunky Honey Nut Granola

Ahh! I have been thinking about creating a food blog for the longest time, and now I finally have!! I am so excited to share all my favorite recipes!

For my first recipe, I give you some good ol’ hearty granola. I can pretend I am super healthy while I am eating it, even if once I start I can’t stop. After many batches of granola, I have created this combination of cinnamon, a little cocoa, sweet honey,pecans and almonds. The olive oil gives this granola a bit of complexity, balancing the sweetness. (Do I sound smart?) I hope you’ll love it as much as I do!

Chunky Nutty Granola

Ingredients

3 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/3 cup coconut flakes

1/4 cup whole flax seeds (optional)

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Prepare a greased cookie sheet (or just use parchment paper like I do because it means one less thing to wash).

Mix the two very well together. Make sure the dry ingredients are coated with the liquid.

Evenly spread out the granola onto the cookie sheet.

Bake for 35-45 minutes. ( I cooked mine for 45) It is done when it begins to darken around the edges.

I like my granola in big chunks and extra crunchy, so I usually do not mix it while it is baking and let it cook until it gets nice and brown. For less chunky and softer granola, mix around every ten minutes or so and let it cook a little less.

I think this granola is best after it has had time to cool, especially overnight. Serve the granola by the handfuls, with some milk like cereal, or on top of some yogurt.